This invention relates to lawnmowers, and more particularly to handle assemblies for lawnmowers.
A wide variety of lawnmower handle assemblies are known which enable the lawnmower operator to guide the lawnmower while cutting grass. Lawnmower handle members typically are shaped like an inverted U, with the opposing legs of the U-shaped handle member being connected to a handle cross bar and being attached to the lawnmower chassis.
More recent lawnmower handle assemblies include a rotatable bale safety lever which is held or gripped by the operator during lawnmower operation along with the handle cross bar. The rotatable bale lever is typically connected to either a brake cable or to an ignition kill switch so that release of the bale lever assists in stopping the rotating cutting blade.
Lawnmower handle assemblies are also known for manually-started lawnmowers in which a bracket attached to one of the handle member's legs is used to hold the starter rope handle. The purpose of the bracket is to enable the operator to pull-start the engine without having to bend down to reach the starter rope handle, which would otherwise be located near the starter rewind housing on the lawnmower chassis.
However, the operator must still reach a substantial distance to grasp the starter rope handle even if the rope handle is located on such a bracket. The operator must then use a relatively long arm movement to pull the rope handle and start the engine. This movement was necessary in prior art lawnmowers since a longer arm movement or pull stroke was required to start engines.
Another disadvantage of these prior art arrangements is that they typically require the starter rope to engage a pulley or other guide member to guide the travel of the starter rope. Such guide members and pulleys introduce friction forces onto the starter rope during pull-starting, thereby further increasing the operator's effort required to start the engine.